Halo: Firestorm
by McFusterCluck
Summary: Years after the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC and Sangheili continue the fight against the Brutes. Grac 'Lasum, a Sangheili Ship Master, and Captain Jon Graham, a UNSC captain, must bring the fight to the Brutes. Please leave reviews!
1. Chapter 1: Meetings

The Pelican soared over the planet Doisac. The pilot called out from the cabin, " Sir, the planet is deserted. There is nothing here." Captain John Hapton responded, " This is the Brutes' homeworld, according to the Elites." The pilot shook his head. " They probably gave us the wrong coordinates on accident." A Marine said, " I don't think the Elites would screw up coordinates unless it was a... trap.."

" Sir! Slipspace rupture! Around the planet! Request permission to see who's knocking?!" the pilot yelled. " Denied. Wait for the cruiser to get here. Ah, speak of the devil." As soon as Hapton said those words, the cruiser UNSC Yorktown jumped out of slipspace over the planet. " Captain, this is Commander Cell, how's everything going over there?" the radio squawked. " There was just a massive slipspace rupture on the other side of the planet." Hapton responded.

The Yorktown moved toward the planet. Then, all of a sudden, a plasma bolt ripped into the hull. " Commander, what the hell was that?!" the pilot hollered. The co-pilot said, "That." He pointed to two hundred Brute battlecruisers and fifty assault carriers coming around the planet. " Jesus Christ. Yorktown, jump out! Now!" Hapton ordered. " Negative, sir. We're going..." the Yorktown exploded. " Yorktown! Yorktown! Damn it!" Hapton screamed. " Hey, what the hell is that?!" the pilot tapped Hapton on the shoulder and pointed. " My god. I haven't seen one of those since Reach..." Hapton shuddered. Jumping in with the Brute ships were about 500 Corvettes and 200 destroyers.

Hapton grabbed the radio. " Hailing Shadow of Intent! Hailing Shadow Of Intent!" " Identify yourself." the radio responded. " This is Captain John Hapton, of the UNSC. I count over 700 Brute ships over Doisac, over. We've lost the Yorktown. Request reinforcements, over." The Brute fleet started scattering all over the planet. On the other end of the radio, Hapton could hear fumbling. " Hapton? This is Rtas 'Vadum. Did you say over 700?!" Elite Fleet Master Rtas 'Vadum responded. " Yes. I'm in a Pelican right now. All UNSC ships are elsewhere or in drydock. Request immediate assisstance." Hapton asked. " We can spare a cruiser. It will jump right above you so hold your position." Vadum responded.

The Pelican floated over the planet. The crew watched the Brute fleet scatter across the planet. " Captain! Slipspace rupture! It's coming from above us!" the pilot yelled. " Hey! It's the Elites!" a Marine cheered. A Covenant Seperatist CCS-class battlecruiser slowed to a stop over the Pelican. The Pelican was pulled into its hangar by a tractor beam. Once in the hangar, the passengers and crew piled out of the dropship. About ten Elites stood in the immediate area. " Captain Hapton, the Ship Master is waiting for you." one of them said.

Hapton thanked the Elite and followed his escort. His Marines from the Pelican hopped out of it and warily eyed the Sangheili warriors. Hapton knew that both of the Marines were on Reach, and they had a deep hatred for the Elites. As the escort opened a door, five Grunts dashed out on their way to the hangar. Soon, Hapton and the escort were passing the vehicle depot. Ten Wraith tanks sat in rows of two. Unmanned Revenants and Ghosts were near, and Elite soldiers sat on them, talking.

Eventually, Hapton reached the bridge. "Ship Master, the human is here." the escort said. The Ship Master turned around. He had gold armor, and had the General configuration. The handle of an energy sword sat on his left hip. " Ah. Thank you, warrior. Dismissed." the Ship Master said. The warrior bowed and left the room. " First things first." the Ship Master said. He pressed a button and the ship zoomed into slipspace. " We have about an hour until we arrive where we need to be. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grac 'Lasum, Ship Master of the Joyous Triumph, the most advanced cruiser in our fleet." Grac introduced himself. " Captain John Hapton, Office of Naval Intelligence. My Pelican was sent ahead of the Yorktown to scout the planet. We counted over 700 Brute ships. The Yorktown is gone. Didn't stand a chance against a supercarrier."

" Supercarrier? I didn't think that the Brutes had any of those. But the real question is where the ships were. Where were the ships positioned?" Grac asked. " They all slipped in. Its like they knew we were there or something. Why?" Hapton's voice raised. " Calm, Captain. We think that the Brutes are moving their people underground to avoid glassing. We know that the planet has much seismic activiy so they might exterminate their own planet without us doing anything!" Grac laughed. " This isn't funny, Ship Master. All of my crew on that ship are dead. Dead. Dead. Dead." Hapton jabbed his finger at Grac. " I'm sorry for that. Wait, what is an ONI officer doing directing a human ship?" Grac looked puzzled. " Special assignment. Confidential.'' Hapton shook his head.

" Ah. Well, Captain, we should be arriving at out destin-" Grac stopped immediately mid-sentence. " What is it?!" Hapton worried. Grac turned around and smiled," You have survivors from your ship, Captain. They're in Hangar Bay 4. I'll go with you." The two dashed out of the bridge and rushed to the hangar bay. When they got to the hangar bay, there was a crowd of Elites forming a circle around the event. Grac pushed Hapton through the crowd to the front. When he got to the front, he went wide eyed. Two Hornets, and a Pelican lay strewn across the deck. Grac and John slowly approached the first Hornet and looked inside. The pilot was asleep, and her passengers, who had oxygen masks on and were tied to the ship itself, were trying to get themselves off.

Grac pulled out his energy dagger and cut the cable. The man fell off. Hapton looked at his patch. The 134th Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. The ODST rose. He snapped to attention, and saluted Hapton and Grac. The other passenger came around the craft, and saluted. 215th Armored Division was on this soldiers patch. " What the hell were you doing on a Navy ship, soldier?" Hapton asked. " Our tanks were going to be deployed on Doisac if contact was made. I think I was the only survivor of my regiment. Grac walked over to the other Hornet. He pulled out the pilot and told medics to take him to the medical bay. The passengers were fine. The two were also from different divisions. One was from the 56th Air Wing, which was decimated during the battle of Earth. The other was in the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. Hapton lined the men up, and read their name patches. The ODST's read Lane. The soldiers' was Kozlov. The airmans' was Windsor. The Marines' said Andrews. The sleeping pilot woke up and hopped out of her Hornet. " Hapton? How did you-" the pilot began. " All that matters is that we're here." Her tag read Farela.

Hapton strolled over to the Pelican. The back ramp wouldn't budge. Grac signalled for thirty Elites to pull open the hatch. The hatch came off. Hapton entered and froze. Crates of weapons and ammo filled the cabin. The pilots were dead. Grac slouched and entered, " By the gods. This is no accident. These men were sent. These weapons were sent." The two species glared at each other. "

All of a sudden, the ship rippled, and it exited slipspace. Grac and Hapton returned to the bridge. " This is Joyous Triumph. We've got precious cargo aboard." Grac said. A huge Elite carrier passed right in front of the cruiser. " Roger, Triumph. Welcome back." a voice responded. " Good to be back." Grac said back. A planet loomed in front of the ships. " What planet is that?" Hapton asked. " That... that is... that's Reach." Grac smiled. Hapton looked around the area. Super MAC guns dotted the area around the planet. Human ships and Sangheili ships alike floated around. The planet looked different. It looked new. Like it did before the Fall. " Grac. What the fuck is that?" John pointed at a huge ship floating ahead of the ships. " Ah. You haven't been here lately?" Grac asked. " Not since the Fall." Hapton responded.

Grac slowly nodded, " That.. is the UNSC Sigma Octanus. It is three miles long. It's the newest human capital ship in the fleet that isn't a cruiser. Supercarrier. I don't know much more about it besides that it has three MAC guns on it. Took out three Flood-infested straggler ships with one shot. Glorious piece of human ingenuity." Grac turned toward Hapton, "We should go. The Fleet Master is waiting for us." Grac lead Hapton and the survivors of the Yorktown to the Pelican that Hapton entered in. Warrant Officer Farela jumped in the Pelican carrying weapons and waited for Hapton's go.

"Alright, humans. To Shadow of Intent!" Grac cheered. A few of his men cheered. The Pelican dropships lifted off and flew out into Reach space. " There." Grac pointed. A large assualt carrier sat above one of the Super MAC guns. The two ships landed in a hangar bay and were greeted by none other then Rtas 'Vadum. " 'Lasum. Good to see you in one piece. And you humans as well." Vadum greeted. " It's an honor." Hapton spoke. " Likewise, human." Vadum responded. " Now. If you'll follow me." he said. The Sangheili Fleet Master was average height, and his armor colors were all white. The three passed a huge docking bay and Hapton looked in awe as Seperatist Engineers worked on a UNSC frigate inside the carrier.

The three eventually reached a large meeting room. There were some familiar faces onboard. Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood. But there was one chair that was turned around so Hapton couldn't tell who it was. The seat swiveled around, and the thing in the chair was the leader of the Elites: Thel 'Vadam. The Arbiter. Hapton sat down and saw two figures across the table from him. They were two Spartans. Their tags read Fred-104 and Kelly-087. " Captain Hapton. We heard about the Yorktown. We're both sorry." Fred said. Hapton nodded. The Arbiter rose and spoke, " Yes. The loss of your ship was tragic. But that's not the reason we're here. The Brutes have wiped out one of our fleets patrolling near the Grunt homeworld. And now, you've reported seeing a massive fleet over Doisac. Is this true, Grac?"

" I saw the ships with my own eyes. The Yorktown didn't stand a chance." Grac responded. " We'll have to check your surveillence cameras for proof." the Arbiter said. All of a sudden, and Elite dashed into the room, panting, " My brothers! Two Brute supercarriers just jumped in on the other side of the planet! The Fleet of Impending Thunder has engaged and taken heavy casualties!" Fred and the Arbiter looked at each other and nodded. The two Spartans left the room. " Rtas, mobilize all ships. Hood, get the Sigma Octanus to test her guns. Grac and Hapton, get to the cruiser." the Arbiter left the room. Hampton looked at Grac, puzzled, " I don't remember being assigned to your ship, Ship Master." " I guess that with your ship being blown up and losing most of your crew, they decided to put you on my ship!" Grac chuckled. Hapton had his first laugh after losing 1200 men and women on the Yorktown.

The two species dashed through the halls of the carrier and to their cruiser. They went up the gravity list and got to the bridge. " Ship Master! More Brute ships jumping in! They look like cruisers and another supercarrier!" the navigation officer yelled. " Fine. Get this tin can out there and fight the bastards back down to the planet they are about to lose!" The Sangheili roared in approval and the Joyous Triumph left the Shadow of Intent into the massive space that was underway outside.

Hapton looked out the window and took a quick tactical analysis. Three UNSC frigates dove in onto a Brute cruiser, firing their MAC guns every chance they got. The cruiser fired a spread of fifteen plasma torpedoes, and two of the frigates erupted in flame and disintegrated. The third one was missing most of its hull and was slowly going down toward Reach. Lifepods jettisoned from the sides of the frigate, and it kept going until the ship finally exploded. The Brute cruiser kept pushing to the UNSC Sigma Octanus, which was slowly turning it's forward MAC guns on it. Longsword fighters engaged in dogfights with Seraphs and Banshee's. The three Brute supercarriers retreated from the battle into Slipstream. " Lord Hood! This is Destroyer 318 Griffon. Those damn supercarriers jumped out. Permission to pursue?" " Negative. Focus on the task at hand. Mop up the cruisers."

Two Halcyon and one Marathon class cruisers surrounded a cruiser and destroyed it with a mix of Archer missles and MAC rounds. The Super MAC guns were just starting to fire on the Brute ships. Many of the cruisers became burning hulks of metal. The remaining Brute ships jumped out of the system. The UNSC/Seperatist casualties weren't too bad. The UNSC lost six frigates, two destroyers, and one cruiser. The Elites, due to the surprise of the Brute ships, lost five assault carriers, seven cruisers, and three destroyers. The Fleet of Holy Impertenunce suddenly jumped out of the system in pursuit of the Brute ships. The Sigma Octanus began a maneuver to dock with a repair station. Hapton guessed that a few plasma bolts struck the hull of the ship, but, the Sigma Octanus was strong, and she would hold. As the Sigma Octanus docked, the UNSC Infinity jumped into system. Hapton smiled. He knew the captain, Thomas Lasky, since the battle of Sigma Octanus IV. The Joyous Triumph lurched to port as it fell into formation with a combined Human-Sangheili fleet. Captain Hapton took a small head count of the ships. He counted fourteen Marathon and Halcyon class human cruisers, twenty four Minotaur-class destroyers, two Saratoga-class carriers, ten London-class dreadnoughts and soon the UNSC Sigma Octanus joined them. The Elites ships numbered twenty CCS-class battlecruisers, five CAS-class assault carriers, including Shadow of Intent, twelve destroyers, and one CSO-class supercarrier. " Grac, where are we going?" Hapton asked. Grac sighed, " I have no idea. The plot was set by the Arbiter. I'm assuming we're going to Doisac, but that's unlikely."

" Ship Master, we've got a transmission coming in from Shadow of Intent. I'm patching it through." the comms officer yelled. The screen turned on, and Lord Hood appeared on the screen. " Captain Hapton, we're sending a Pelican over to the Joyous Triumph to take you to the Sigma Octanus. You're being transferred." Lord Hood said before the screen went dark. " Why did he not allow you to speak, human?" Grac looked puzzled. " Hood is still bitter over what your people did to mine. He's probably pissed I'm on an Elite ship."

Half an hour later, Hapton and the survivors of the Yorktown were flown to the Sigma Octanus. Hapton was met by the captain, " Listen, Hapton. I know what you are. You're ONI, and it's fucks like you which are why there's an Elite civil war going on. Command any of my men, and I'm tossing you out the airlock. Understood?" Hapton saluted, " Yes, sir. Sir, I also am requesting my men from the Yorktown be sent to Reach. Many are deeply wounded. Not to mention that there are Spartans that are at Reach that were on my ship. Sir." The captain pondered for a moment, and finally said, " Fine. Tell them to get back on the Pelican." Hapton saluted and told his men to board the Pelican.

He watched the Pelican leave the ship.

He watched it dock at a space station.

He sighed and heard over the intercom, " Crew of the Sigma Octanus, this is your captain. Reach was just attacked by Brute forces. Now, with the help of our Elite allies, we're going to deliver the hurt right back at them with a combined raid. Hit the mess, shower, and then man your stations. Hooah."

The Navy personnel cheered. Hapton ate and took his station at an Archer missle pod.

The fleet entered Slipstream. They exited in two hours. They were at Doisac.

The Joyous Triumph jumped in first. The rest of the fleet came in after. The

Elite ships sped to Doisac and readied their guns for a plasma bombardment. The Triumph stayed with the Shadow of Intent as they took positions at the middle of the fleet. The Elite ships began glassing Doisac. Hapton closed his eyes. It reminded him of why he signed up. The names flashed across his head: Harvest, Jericho VIII, Arcadia, Reach. He was on the ground on Reach when the Covenant began glassing. He couldn't imagine what the Brutes, as evil as they were, were going through. He imagined cities on fire, and children burning.

Two human cruisers suddenly erupted in a spectacular ball of fire. The Sigma Octanus turned to face its opponents. Hapton gasped. It was the same fleet that destroyed the Yorktown. The Octanus fired its MAC guns, and took down a destroyer. But the Brutes knew who they were aiming for. Thousands of plasma bolts soared towards the Octanus, which tried to avoid them. Hapton had the Archer crew fire salvos at the Brute ships. The first few plasma bolts tore holes in the armor of the port side. Red lights blinked, and men scrambled for lifepods. The rest of the pods impacted. The ship split in half, and Hapton, clinging onto a bar, was inevitably sucked into the vacuum of space.

Grac closed his eyes as the Sigma Octanus was torn in half. His ship scanned the bodies floating in space. Hapton was one of them. Grac inhaled deeply and slammed his fist on the control panel. " I want all batteries trained on one of those supercarriers. Flush the tubes; get new plasma torpedoes in, full spread. On my mark." Grac commanded. The bridge crew typed orders into their computers, and soon all starboard guns were aimed at a Brute supercarrier, the Sound of Truth. Grac held up an open hand, and soon closed it and roared, " Fire! Fire! All batteries fire!"

The Joyous Triumph sent out a massive volley of fire. The Sangheili crew anxiously awaited the sight of explosions on the Truth's hull. Grac held his breath and clenched his fist. The lead torpedo went off course and slammed into a Brute battlecruiser. The torpedo hit the underbelly entrance, which tore through the armor and soon the cruiser split and was sent spiraling towards Doisac. The rest of the torpedoes stayed on course. Some of the crew cheered as one torpedo took down a cruiser.

The plasma torpedoes impacted on the carrier.

The carrier churned to its side and was coughing out smoke. The carriers

backup engines kicked in and the Truth tried to propel itself away from the battle. Grac and the crew began cheering. Then, as the carrier began propelling away, a bridge member yelled, " What the hell? We hit the damn thing! Why isn't it gone?!" Grac cursed himself and ordered another volley ready. It was then that the UNSC dreadnought New York swooped in and fired an Ultra-Heavy MAC round, more powerful than a Super-MAC gun, at the Truth. That finished the ship. The ship rolled to starboard, and exploded. " The humans have dreadnoughts now?" a bridge member questioned. " After the Fall of Reach, the humans invested heavily in very heavy ships. The London-class is a fine investment." Grac said, still grieving over the loss of a new friend. But he had other matters at hand: the Brute ships were closing on the fleet, and the UNSC was scrambling to get new ships there.

"Joyous Triumph, this is Shadow of Intent. We are under attack by a cluster of cruisers. We need fire support!" Rtas Vadum's voice came over the comms. "We're firing, my brother." Grac responded. He turned around and walked over to the starboard window. He turned to the weapons controller, and said, "Fire a full broadside. Follow up with another plasma torpedo strike." The controller nodded and tapped the FIRE button on his screen. The ship's side erupted with a salvo of fire. The Shadow of Intent pulled up, and then fired its own torpedoes. The first torpedoes impacted on the lead cruisers. The first one split to its side, lifepods shooting out of it. The ships bow exploded, wheras the front side remained intact, but floating aimlessly in the vacuum of space. The second cruiser was hit and the force propelled the ship back, but it kept going. Grac ordered the second volley, and it finished off the second cruiser. The Shadow of Intent finshed off the small contingent of cruisers.

Soon, multiple Slipstream jumps were detected. The bridge crew began scrambling, assuming they were hostile. The first ship jumped in: it was a UNSC cruiser. Dozens more followed. The whole UNSC Arcturus and Andares Fleets jumped in. Fleet Master Vadums voice popped up over the radio, " Triumph, I need you to jump out of the system. Report back to Reach."

Grac acknowledged the order and plotted a course for the Epsilon Eridani System. The ship jumped through Slipspace, and two hours later, the Joyous Triumph was at Reach. New ships were jumping in by the minute, and were immediately being sent to Doisac. A large fleet did maintain dominance at Reach. Grac initially thought that Reach would be empty, with only orbital platforms for defense. Grac sat down in his command chair and remembered his tour on Reach.


	2. Chapter 2: Rememberance

Grac was raised into a military family. His father fought in the Unggoy Rebellions, and his mother fought in the war with the Prophets. From the time he was a child, he was taught about honor and commitment to his people. His father trained him to be an excellent fighter, and his mother never said a word. With his friends, he made a small replica bridge of an assault carrier, and would go on missions and fight. What he did was compared to an old human show called Star Trek. Grac watched a few episodes on Reach before rescuing Hapton, and laughed at its simplicity. He grew up to become a renowned commander, and it was because of so that he came face-to-face with the powerful Spartans on multiple occasions.

He was sent in with the Fleet of Particular Justice to Reach. He saw the small human fleet get destroyed. He was sent in to the surface and was soon met by a group of Spartans dropped from the Pillar of Autumn. He was sent to destroy the generators powering the human orbital stations, and decimated a human company. He then remembered, those Spartans on the Intent... they were the ones at the generators! Grac remembered them decimating his troops. He barely escaped, returning to base only to have it destroyed before he got there. Most Sangheili would be still outraged at what the humans did, but Grac understood why the humans did what they did. He realized what his people did to the humans, but he only thought about it after the war. But only now, looking at the again-colonized Reach, does he fully remember what happened those fateful few days.

He commanded the CCS-class battlecruiser Undaunted. After the forward advance Zealot Elites scouted the planet, the Undaunted and 313 other Covenant ships were amassed for a massive invasion of Reach. The humans had attacked on multiple fronts and lost the frigate Grafton to the supercarrier Long Night of Solace. The shipmasters of all ships in the fleet were assembled on the flagship for a briefing by the Fleet Master, Thel 'Vadamee, now the Arbiter and leader of the Elites. They were told to burn the planet until it was brighter than the sun. 'Vadamee also made it clear that this was the most important human planet next to their homeworld. He said that the largest human fleet was stationed here, and that they would surely lose because this time, the Covenant outnumbered them. The Arbiter also told them that the humans only won when they had more ships than the Covenant, not the other way around. He reminded them of the Second Battle of Harvest, where the humans lost a third of their ships taking down one super-destroyer. The shipmasters roared with approval of the pep-talk. The Brute shipmasters chuckled. Grac was always suspicious of the Jiralhanae. They were slowly nudging their way up the chain of command, and had their own fleets. The Arbiter never showed his suspicion publicly, only with close friends, such as Grac and Rtas 'Vadum. He feared that the Sangheili would be overtaken by the Brutes, which did eventually happen.

The Covenant expected a swift victory at Reach. When the advance fleet jumped into Slipspace, they heard about what happened to the Long Night of Solace. They found out just before they jumped in that the Hierarchy revealed the human attack. The humans thought that the Covenant attack was finished, until the fleet jumped in. He then recieved orders to enter Reach's orbit, specifically the airspace of New Alexandria. When the cruiser entered the atmosphere, he noticed the city on fire. Skyscraper buildings were crumbling, and human dropships were speeding around the city. He ordered a few to be shot down, and as he saw one erupt into flame, he thought that they may have been filled with civilians. He shrugged it off, as they were unworthy and tainted according to the Prophets. However, he believed that they should be offered a place in the Covenant, due to their tenacity and will to fight.

The cruiser took its place over a part of the city, and began glassing the area. Grac then recieved word from a Brute force that they were being overrun at their jammer in the hospital by a Spartan. Grac acknoweldged this and ordered a Phantom prepped with a platoon of Ranger Elites and some Grunts. The Phantom dropped them off at the hospital and Grac led the way into the chamber. He had the Elites cloak themselves and wait for the Spartan to leave the jammer. Grac identified the Spartan as Noble 6, a member of a team of Spartans. As the Spartan backtracked to his Falcon waiting outside, the Elites sprung the ambush. The Spartan jumped back and began firing. He took down three Elites and rushed forward. Grac whipped out his energy sword and charged the Spartan. The Spartan punched Grac in the face and threw him against the wall. Grac laid there for a minute and jumped back up, dazed. The Spartan was just ahead of him, mowing down his men. Grac pulled out his energy dagger and began staggering after the human. Bodies of Brutes, Elites, Jackals, and Grunts littered the floor. The Spartan surged up the ramps toward the exit, and Grac picked up the pace. He ordered all remaining units to hold against the Spartan; retreat was not an option. Grac finally got behind the Spartan and threw his energy dagger at him with the last of his energy. It missed, and Grac fell to the floor, reeling in pain from the hit to the head. He watched the Spartan kill the rest of his men, and flee out the doors. Grac blacked out after that.

He woke up in the med bay of the Undaunted. He suffered a severe concussion, but was patched up now. The cruiser was in space for a full week before the full fleet jumped in.

He took his place on the bridge and plot a course for the location of the orbital platform generators. As they began leaving, ten more cruisers arrived and began glassing the rest of the city. He then recieved word that a member of Noble Team, the team the Spartan he attacked was part of, was killed by a sniper. Grac reeled in the good news. He got some form of revenge. The Undaunted arrived at the generators, and unleashed its entire ground force. The force decimated a human force which was soon reinforced by three Spartans. The battle ended with the Covenant in full retreat, and the Undaunted glassing the area from orbit later.

In space, the MAC stations stopped firing. 'Vadamee ordered a full scale attack on the stations. The fleet destroyed the remaining MAC stations, and began glassing the rest of the planet. The Pillar of Autumn broke through the fleet's line, and fled into Slipspace. A cluster of ships, led by Thel 'Vadamee himself, followed it. The Halo Event was what ensued.

Grac lifted his head and sighed. He stood up and stared at the planet. He pointed at where New Alexandria was. He formed a gun in his hand and whispered, "Boom." He closed his eyes and heard the sound of plasma bombardment. He shuddered and turned around. The weapons officer walked over to him and put his hand on Grac's shoulder. "My brother, we have fought together through many battles. I never once thought that we would ever be working with the humans. But here we are. What used to be humanity's most important planet, is now it again," he said. Grac nodded and said, " I still feel guilt over glassing the planet. So many civilians dead. And their blood is on my hands." " We were all blinded by the Prophets lies. Now we can see for ourselves. Guilt will get us nowhere," Frat 'Unfran, the officer, said. Grac nodded and strode to the door. He went down a few levels to the hangar, and took a look at his men. They looked happy, as they had taken down a cruiser and a supercarrier in a matter of seconds. Phantoms stayed docked in their ports, with Huragok working on them. Grac walked past the hangar and into the vehicle bay. Wraiths were sitting in their spots, waiting for a ground invasion. They were painted green, as it was the color of the Separatists. Elite troopers wandered around the chamber, checking on the Unggoy and Lekgolo troops. The Grunts were very excited, and the Lekgolo were idle. The Elites snapped to attention when they noticed Grac, and Grac threw his hand up and said, " At ease, my brothers." As the Sangheili went back to their routines, the navigation officers voice came over comms, " Ship Master, we are cleared for a dock at Earth. Shall we jump there?" " Yes. I've always wanted to see Earth." Grac smiled.

The Joyous Triumph jumped into slipstream and came out at Earth. Grac spotted a Sangheili fleet patrolling the space along with the UNSC Home Fleet. Orbital MAC guns floated over the planet and Grac was happy to see them not shooting at him. A human voice popped up on comms and said, " You are clear for dock at the New Mombasa space tether Joyous Triumph." Grac thanked the officer and set a course for the tether. Grac remembered how he ordered the destruction of a space tether on Arcadia. The cruiser docked at the tether and Grac walked out onto the station with Frat 'Unfran. He turned into the elevator loading bay and spotted an extremely tall human male with brown hair talking to a brunette woman. They wore casual clothing, and their nametags read Fred-104 and Kelly-087. Grac gasped and strode over to them. " Excuse me. I couldn't help but notice that you two are Spartans, correct?" Grac asked. Fred looked at Grac and raised an eyebrow, " Uh yeah. What's it to you?" " I fought against you on Reach. You defended the MAC generators, right?" Grac continued. " We did defend them, yes. And excuse me? There were no Covie survivors when we fought there." Kelly chimed in. " When you showed up, we were in a full retreat. I tried to rally our men, but it was fruitless. I would just like to... apologize for what my people did to yours." Grac sighed. Fred frowned and roared, " Sorry? Sorry! You're sorry for what you did?! You burned our planets, slaughtered our people, and all you can say is you're sorry?! You motherf..." Kelly cut him off, " Sorry about him. We respect you as a soldier, and I'm glad our races are working together." Fred sighed and nodded. Grac thanked them for their time and boarded the space elevator. As the elevator went down, UNSC frigates flew around over New Mombasa, and cargo ships soared down to space ports. Grac looked around the elevator and realized how tall he was compared to the human civilians surrounding him. He seemed quite intimidating, and yet a human in front of him turned around and snarled, " You alien fuckers killed my family. You don't deserve to be helping us. You don't need to be on my planet." Grac raised a hand and said, " Human, I did not kill your family. Should I blame you for my brothers death on the Ascendant Justice? I am sorry for your loss. Please calm yourself." The human's face went red and he pulled an M6D Magnum on the Elite, " You don't get to tell me to calm down. You stupid alien piece of shit!"

The human threw his fist at Grac but Grac snapped his hand up and caught the humans wrist and twisted it. The human reeled in pain and pulled his pistol up and aimed at Grac. As the human steadied his aim, a tall male human swiftly tackled the man. The Magnum fired, and it hit the wall of the elevator cart. The tall human threw the enemy human to the floor and stomped his foot on him. The other occupants of the cart looked at the tall male, shocked. Then, the elevator hit the ground, and the doors opened. The tall male picked up the enemy by the neck and tossed him out and walked out. Grac and Frat looked at each other and walked out. Two cops took the man away and the tall male turned around and smiled, " My name is John. I'm a Spartan." Grac went wide eyed and said, " John-117? The Master Chief? It is an honor." Frat chuckled and said, " We met a few more like you at the top of the tether. Glad we're on your side, Chief." John grinned and said, " Well we were winning anyways. And you guys are..?" " Grac 'Lusam. Ship Master of the Joyous Triumph. This is Frat 'Unfran, my weapons officer," Grac responded. " Ah. The Arbiter spoke of you. You fought on Reach?" John raised an eyebrow. " Yes. And hopefully you won't have the same response the one called Fred had," Grac sighed. John shook his head, " I am still bitter about what your kind did to mine, but I'm willing to put those things aside as we work together. Fred was... on the ground when the glassing began. He's... still remembering what happened, to put it lightly," John looked at the ground.

A Marine ran up behind the Chief and said, " Sir! Captain Lasky's waiting for you in the Warthog over there. Follow me." John nodded at the two Sangheili and hopped into a Warthog outside and drove off. " Ship Master, I'm not sure about being here, in New Mombasa. The people seem so bitter about us. They should be glad we're helping them. We could have just let the Flood take over their planet seven years ago, but we didn't!" Frat said. Grac looked around the terminal of the space tether. He only saw about five Elites, and only two of them were talking to humans. The rest were in one group, with all the other humans staying away from them. Grac realized that the Elites towered over the humans, and that must have made the humans want to be cautious around them.

Grac strode over to the group of Elites in the corner of the room. The triad of Elites opened up and one of them crossed their arms and joked, " Ah. Two more of us arrive in New Mombasa. What a great day to be a Sangheili!" The other Elites roared with laughter, and a couple humans turned around, puzzled. Grac chuckled and told them who he was. The three Elites immediately snapped to attention and saluted the Ship Master. Grac waved his hand and said, " At ease. What are you guys doing down here?" The lead one spoke up, " Shore leave. Our ship went down in the Brute attack on Reach a few days ago. Most of the crew made it out. Most of us.."

The noise in the room suddenly hushed. Grac turned around and saw most of the room staring at the group. The two Elites across the room came to the group and one of them said, " Hawe, you idiot! We're not supposed to tell the civilians, human or Elite, what happened there. Especially the humans." The Elite named Hawe muttered something under his breath and small whispers floated across the room.

" Reach was attacked again?"

" Not even the Elites can stop them?"

" I thought that the Brutes were done for."

" Fucking aliens. Can't trust them for anything."

Grac pointed at the group and the door and the Elites acknowledged what he was signalling for. As they made their break for the exit, a large group of around twelve UNSC personnel blocked the door. Grac sighed as he knew a fight was going to break out. " So the split-jaw said that something happened on Reach, eh? Tell us and we'll let you leave relativly alive," one of them said. He was an officer, as Grac recognized the Lieutenant bars on his jacket. He had multiple medals and ribbons. The other UNSC were regular grunts, and a couple NCO's (non-commissioned officers). The Elites kept walking for the door when the Lieutenant charged Grac. Grac sidestepped him and Frat threw him to the ground. The rest of the UNSC charged.

A full on fight ensued. Punches and kicks flew, and the brawl was becoming a tie. The humans and Elites were battered. Suddenly, the space elevator came down, and the doors flew open. Three Spartans stepped out: Linda-059, Kelly-087, and Fred-104. The three Spartans looked at the fight and they immediately sprung into action. Kelly swiftly pounced on one of the humans trying to stab Hawe, and threw him against the wall. She then grabbed an Elite at the wrist and chucked him at a rising human. Linda picked up Hawe by the throat and slammed him to the ground. Fred threw himself into the group and Elites and humans flew everywhere. Fred pulled himself up and sighed, " Damn it. You Elites keep causing trouble. And you guys! You think it's okay to just pick fights! These aliens saved our species!" The sound of tires screeching to a halt was heard outside, and John walked through the doors. Kelly and Linda snapped to attention. " At ease, Spartans. Ship Master 'Lasum, what is going on here?" John demanded. One of the Elites spat, " Your Marines attacked us. Simply because we were talking!" John snapped his head at the Elite and said, " Was I talking to you, split jaw?" The Elite went wide eyed at the insult. The human lieutentant roared, " They're witholding information about something at Reach! I deserve to know!" John strode to the lieutentant and punched him in the stomach. "Spartans, go do what you were doing. Marines, report to a superior. And you... Elites... just go. I don't need anymore trouble today. Dismissed," John sighed.

Grac and the group of Sangheili walked out of the terminal and into the blazing sunlight. The city was bustling, after seven years. The last time Grac saw New Mombasa was when he was rallying his men and a division of Brutes showed up. Grac was giving orders out to his newly-landing troops, when a Brute chieftain violently walked to Grac. He stared the Sangheili down, and turned to look at his men. He turned his head to his flanks, and ten Elites were seized by Brutes. Grac threw himself at the chieftain, and roared, " What are you doing?! We are Covenant!" The chieftain chuckled and said, " Not anymore you're not." Grac hollered for all remaining Elites to get back on the Undaunted and ready an evac, before the Brute threw a punch at him. Grac ducked and the fist went over him. The Brute infantry opened fire on Grac's men, and they jumped into the gravity lift. Grac drew his energy sword, and ignited it into the chieftains abdomen. The chieftain fell over, and the Brutes looked at each other, stunned. Grac realized that they were about to go beserk so he bolted into the gravity lift. He went immediately to the bridge and had the gravity lift get shut down.

A squad of Brutes made it onto the ship, but were soon killed by Sangheili troops. A lone Captain survived, and was immediately taken to the brig. Grac led the interrogation himself. The Captain grunted when Grac entered the room. " Tell me, why are you doing this? Are you a rogue division? The Prophets would surely not order an attack on me," Grac asked. The Captain sighed and spilled out information, " Regret is dead. He was killed by the Demon on the Sacred Ring. Your Honor Guard couldn't defend him. Brutes are now the Honor Guard. We are the new right hand of the Prophets." Grac was shocked. Regret is dead? But the Elite Honor Guard are the best. Grac looked at Frat, wide eyed. Frat looked at the ground, shaking his head. " Who? Who ordered this?" Grac roared. " Truth. Truth and Mercy led the changing," the Brute groaned. Grac stared at the Captain. "I gave you what you wanted. Please, let me go," the Captain asked. Grac left the room, and told the two guards to throw him out of the airlock.

Grac got to the bridge, and was recieving many messages over the comm network.

" I'm pinned down on the freeway! Brutes have opened fire on my men!"

" This is the carrier Justifying Means. We're under attack by Brute ships!"

" A Brute carrier just took out one of our cruiser flotillas! What's going on?!"

Grac looked out of the front viewport and saw two corvettes closing on the Undaunted. He ordered the ship to leave Earth, but not before seeing two Phantoms swoop in to evacuate Sangheili troopers. The troops were loaded onto the Phantoms, and they were flying away when a Brute carrier soared over them and began glassing the area. The Phantoms were destroyed. The Undaunted flew straight out of the Earth's atmosphere, as Brute ships soared down over the city. When the cruiser entered space, they saw the remaining human ships fighting against Brutes. Grac saw the remains of many Sangheili ships.

Grac shook himself awake. Frat turned and looked at him. Grac looked around; they were in a modified Warthog, adapted to seat ten. The other Elites filled the seats, with Hawe driving. Frat told Grac that he passed out while walking around, so the Elites carried him to a Warthog. The 'Hog drove through the streets, with hundreds of people meandering around them. Grac's golden armor reflected in the sunlight, and many humans turned to look at the Elites. A few Marines nodded their heads and cheered, for they knew that the Elites really helped the humans with rebuilding. The civilians, especially the older and middle-aged ones, glared at the younger Marines. Grac assumed that many of the civilians lived on worlds that his species glassed. The names flashed through his mind. Harvest. Sigma Octanus. Reach. Arcadia. The Warthog kept going through the streets, and Hawe rounded a corner and went slowly through the political district. A small building caught the Elites eyes, and the Hog slowed to a stop on the side of the street.

The building had banners along it saying Remember Reach with the picture of the face of an Elite on it. The name of the building was Anti-Sangheili Coaliton. Grac had heard the name. They were responsible for terrorist attacks on many Elite civilian liners. They have their own building on Earth. Sickening. Grac turned to the other Elites and said, " I am going in this building. I am going to see what their deal is." Grac jumped out of the Warthog and walked across the street. Surprisingly, he saw a few other Sangheili walking up and down the streets. Many were in the various plazas. When Grac got across the road, a few humans looked at the building he was going into, looked at Grac, and nodded.

When Grac walked through the doors to the building, he was greeted by a young female receptionist. She had her head down, and was looking at her computer screen. She looked at Grac, and jumped. She slowly put her hands on her desk and said to the towering alien, " What do you want, alien?!" Grac jumped up next to the desk and pounded his fist onto the desk, and roared, " Your leader. I want to speak with your leader! I need to know the reason behind this filthy blabber you spew." The receptionist glared at the Elite and called for a man named Briggs. A minute later, a tall, lean man walked into the lobby. He looked at Grac and then at his receptionist, and said, " Please leave the room. I wish to speak with this... thing... alone." The receptionist picked up her things and left the room.

Briggs crossed his arms and said softly, " I hate your kind. Here, watch this, before you speak." Briggs pulled out a remote and a screen popped up on the wall. It showed a lushious green planet. " This was Harvest. Population was a little under 3 million, mainly agricultural. In 2525 we lost contact with Harvest. When we took it back, Harvest was burning," Briggs spoke. Grac looked at the screen and closed his eyes. He was at Harvest. Briggs looked at Grac and continued, " This... is Reach. Its population was over 800 million. It was the UNSC's biggest port and shipyard. In July of 2552, WINTER CONTINGENCY was declared on Reach. Do you know what that is?" Grac shook his head. Briggs grinned and said, " It's when we make Covenant contact on a planet. Now, even with all of our military might, and the Spartans, Reach fell. Hundreds of our worlds ended up like Harvest and Reach. And now the UNSC expects us to make nice with the kind who did this? I say no."

Those words pushed the Ship Master over the brink. His voice thundered, " This is Earth. In December 2552, your kind almost got screwed by the Flood! But my species came to the rescue, we could've glassed your entire planet, but we didn't!" Briggs pointed at the door and roared, " Get out. Get out of here you... vermin." Grac charged out of the building and jumped into the waiting Warthog. Hawe turned around and looked at the fuming Grac and whistled. He turned the vehicle on and was about to drive away when Grac said, " Back to the tether. I'm sick of this planet. All of you, I'm inviting you to join my crew." The Elites looked at each other and smiled. " We'd be honored," Undra 'Karum said. The other Elites nodded.

The trip back was relatively quiet. The people in the lobby for the tether kept quiet when the Sangheili warriors passed. The trip to the top was peaceful. The seven Elites boared the Joyous Triumph and Grac assigned them their duties. Frat and Grac then went back to the bridge and Grac slumped in his chair. Grac plopped his head into his hands and sighed, " Get us out of this planet. Too many bad memories." The Joyous Triumph maneuvered away from the tether and was slowly charging the Slipspace drive when a cry blasted over the comms.

" Ship Master, we're recieving distress calls from Chicago, in North America. Should I patch it through?" Jalak 'Ingral, the communication, navigation, and information officer, said. " Patch it through," Grac lifted his head.

A human popped up on screen; his armor was charred and dirty. His face was covered in mud. Debris and bodies littered the ground around him. " Brute ships are overhead right now! Troops are everywhere! Their lead ship is... I don't know what it is... We need help immediately!" the Marine said before catching a plasma bolt in the back. Grac stood up and said, " Brutes?! Jalak, plot a course for Chicago. We're taking down that attack." Frat looked outside and said, " Looks like we're not the only ones. Look!"

Fifteen Marathon-class cruisers wheeled around and sped toward the city, with thirty four Charon and Paris-class frigates following close behind. ODP's turned, arcing their guns so the trajectory would impact on the Brutes capital ship. Twenty seven Minotaur-class destroyers came in from Luna, followed by six London-class dreadnoughts. Twelve CCS-class cruisers and two CAS-class carriers sped down to the Earth. The Joyous Triumph soared in and was caught in a small formation of some UNSC frigates. The clouds in the atmosphere above Chicago were blinding until the ships came five ships veered up, but the inertia kept the ships coming down. The ships eventually came to a high altitude above Chicago.

Grac said, " Send out probes. I want up-close eyes on the city." Frat tapped a few buttons and three small probes jettisoned from the cruiser. " Open up Camera Seventy-eight," Grac ordered. The cameras recordings blasted onto the screen: Chicago looked like New Alexandria. Brute ships were performing low-orbit glassing of the city, but they were doing it slowly. It seemed as though the Jiralhanae were savoring the death. They hadn't glassed the immediate metropolitan area, which was strange in the fact that Covenant protocol dictated that major population areas were to be struck first. Above the highest point in Chicago floated a ship. Grac and the other crew were puzzled. " Jalak, cross-refere..." Grac was interrupted by Jalak crying, " This ship matches NO known records. For a size comparison though, this thing is at least three times the size of a supercarrier."

Grac's mandibles hung low but he stood tall and said, " Bring up Probe 3. Tell it to zoom on this ship." The screen switched to the probe zooming through the city. Humans and Brutes fired at each other across streets. Banshees and Hornets were engaging each other. The probe slowed and zoomed in on the ship. Warships were coming out of its belly. Wait a second. Those aren't warships. Those are colonization ships! Grac bolted at Jalak and roared, " Hail the Shadow of Intent! They need to know!" Jalak nodded and after two minutes Rtas 'Vadum's familiar face popped up on screen. He crossed his arms and said, " Doisac is partially glassed. Fleets will be non-stop glassing the planet. Now, what is it?" " Fleet Master, the Brutes are at Earth. And not just that, they're colonizing! Here, I'll show you!" Grac brought up the probes feed. Rtas' mandibles quivered. He shuddered and brought the Arbiter to the screen and pointed at the ship. Thel looked at the ground and nodded.

" Tell me, 'Lasum. Do you recognize this ship?" the Arbiter asked. " None of our scans recognize it. Is there something we should know?" Grac responded. " Before the Great Schism, as a gift to the Brutes, the Prophets had a special ship built for them. It was called the Infinite Hierarchs. It is a whole class unto itself, a Reaper-class ship. It will take much more firepower to destroy it. In short, we are on our way," Thel said, and the screen shut down. Frat said, " I'm detecting massive radiation, coming from that ship! By the gods, it's targeting us!" Grac thundered toward the viewport and roared, " Revert all power to shields! Tell the crew to brace for impact!"

All across the cruiser. Sangheili spread to cover. Vehicles were strapped

onto the ship to prevent them from being lost. The Infinite Hierarchs fired what appeared to be triple plasma bombardment weapons, only they were being used as ship to ship weapons. The plasma rocketed across the sky and was about to hit the Joyous Triumph when a UNSC frigate maneuvered in front of the cruiser, taking the impact. The frigate was propelled backwards, towards the cruiser. Finally, the Brute super-dreadnought stopped firing. The UNSC frigate lost power, and began turning from port to starboard. " Did the frigate survive?" Frat exerted with glee. However, that was not the case. When the ships starboard side was visible, the bridge crew gasped. The entire side was gone. The armor was on fire, and they could see the individual decks of the starship. The hull began cracking, and the frigate exploded, its pieces falling to the city below.

Grac swore to avenge the loss by getting on an open comm and broadcasting, " All human forces! The Brutes are attacking your city Chicago! They have killed thousands, now, this is your chance for revenge! Bring everything you have! Destroy these... animals!" As he finished, he turned to Frat and Jalak, who nodded. He then ordered a full plasma torpedo strike. The cruiser began descending on the Brute ship and was ready to fire when a human voice came over comms, saying, " This is Fleet Admiral Harper! We are engaging the enemy!" At that, Marathon-class cruisers and Paris-class heavy frigates came through the clouds, firing their MAC guns. The shields on the Brute ship flickered, and then powered right back up. " ODP cluster 18, fire on the marked target!" Harper yelled.

6 Super-MAC guns fired from orbit. The rounds impacted on the Infinite Hierarchs. The ship began moving forward, and then, it began readying a in-atmosphere Slipspace jump. " What the hell? It's moving. Is it doing what I think?! Oh my god, all ships, leave atmosphere!" Harper hollered. " Negative, human. It's readying a jump out of atmosphere," Grac said. And he was right. The Brute ship sped up, leaving the atmosphere. Jalak tapped a few buttons and then said, " Ship Master, I'm jamming its Slipstream drive. Attack it now!" Grac looked at the destroyed city and thought of his options. I could sacrifice millions of humans so we can destroy that Brute ship. Or I can save them, but that ship can fight another day.


	3. Chapter 3: Invasion

Grac looked around the Phantom. The Sangheili troops were checking their weapons. Frat 'Unfran, Hawe 'Ratran, Undra 'Karum, and twenty other Elites stood about the dropship. " Shipmaster, what are we doing here? Our fight is with the ship!" one Spec-Ops Elite asked. " The humans need help down there. We will help," Grac said. The other Elite sighed. " Shipmaster, the landing zone is clear! Humans will be waiting for us," the pilot yelled. The Phantom slowed to hovering above the zone and the doors opened. The Elites piled out. Grac looked around. There were battered Warthog LRV's being worked on by engineers. Marines were grabbing their weapons. Medics scrurried around the makeship base, checking on wounded Marines and civilians. Grac stopped a Marine running across the courtyard and asked, " Where is your leader?" The Marine said, " I'll go get him!" Two minutes later, a dirt covered, young human strode to the large Sangheili. Grac surveyed the man. He was armed with an MA5B Assault Rifle, and had an M6D Magnm on his hip. The man said, " Sergeant Vlad Dailetsi, reporting. Are you our reinforcementts?" Grac nodded and said, " Where is your actual leader?" Sgt. Dailetsi looked at the ground and said, " Killed in the last Banshee air strike. I'm the next in charge."

Grac nodded and said, " Where do you need us?" Dailetsi said, " We just need to kill the Brutes. Clear them out." Grac acknowledged the order and rallied his men. " Alright brothers! The Brutes think they can take our allies out in one strike! We will show them the tenacity of the Sangheili!" he roared. The warriors raised their weapons and roared with approval. Grac pulled out his energy sword and ignited it. He and the battalion charged out of the base and into the street. A makeshift barrier had been erected, and human Marines were cowering behind it. " Come on humans! Do you think this city will liberate itself!" Frat yelled, pulling a Marine up. The Marines rose, and loaded their weapons. Grac yelled, " Charge!" And so the battle began.

Fifty-two figures bounded over the barrier, running wildly. The Brutes down the street laughed. They began shooting into the dust from their barricade. Around him, Grac saw one Marine go down. Then two, then three. The shields on one Elite dropped and then he went into an Armor Lock behind cover. Grac hit his thermal vision. The Brutes are just ahead. Grac yelled, " Keep pressing!" And finally, the lead troops jumped over the Jiralhanae barrier. Grac jumped over, and tackled a Brute. The Brute roared, and punched Grac. Grac groaned and shoved his Energy Sword right into the Brute. The Brute gargled blood and died. The Marines climbed over the barrier and started shooting. The Brutes backed away from the barrier, firing their Spikers. Frat ran at a chieftain, and grabbed the handle of its gravity hammer. Frat swung on it, and his boot landed in the side of the Brutes skull. The hammer made a loud CLANG as it hit the ground. One Marine used his rifle as a bat, and beat a scared Unggoy down with it.

Grac threw his sword at the last Brute. The Brute fell down to the ground, and Grac picked up his sword. However, Hawe peered over the barrier in front of them and said, " Wraith column. Coming this way." Then, a human Marathon-class cruiser soared over the city and slowed to a stop. Grac looked up at the cruiser and saw hundreds of little explosions rippling along the bottom of the ship. Hundreds of pods shot down into the city. ODST's, Grac thought. Two dozen pods impacted in between the barricades and behind the Elites. Twenty human Orbital Drop Shock Troopers popped out of them. They took positions at the barricade. Four of the pods were opened and were filled with supplies. The ODSTs took Jackhammer rocket launchers and loaded them.

The leader of the ODSTs ran to Grac, and said, " Gunnery Sergeant Tyler Darrit, 11th ODST Division! We've jumped in to help take the city back!" Grac nodded at the small human and grabbed his shoulder, " Put your men with the launchers up to the barricade! Brute tanks are rolling down the street!" The ODST backed away and pointed for his rocket launcher-armed men to get to the barricade. " Shipmaster, they don't see us yet. Shall we attack now?" Hawe asked. Grac yelled, " Everyone, open fire!" The two burps emitted from the barricade, and the first Wraith erupted into flames. " Charge! Take their tanks if you can!" Grac ordered. Sixty-seven people jumped over the barricade and charged the column. With Jackhammer rockets in support, nothing could stop them now. The second Wraith was backing away, but wasn't fast enough, as an ODST hijacked the tank and killed the occupants. He spun the tank around and took out two Ghosts and a Wraith, but was soon destroyed by the remaining two tanks.

Grac bounded over the wreckage of a burning car and landed on the front of a Wraith. He tore open the drivers hatch, and stared down at the driver. The Brute looked up at Grac with shock, and snarled. Grac laughed as he plunged his energy sword into the Brutes head. The Grunt manning the plasma cannon tried to scurry out of his station but Grac grabbed the Unggoy and slashed his throat. Grac dropped an activated plasma grenade in the machine and jumped off. As the tank exploded, he grabbed a retreating Brute and slashed at his knees. The Brute howled in pain and fell over. Grac picked up the Brute and dragged him back to the barricade. He looked at Sgt. Darrit and said, " Keep him prisoner." The Sergeant nodded and kept shooting his rocket launcher.

Two minutes later, the street was filled with wreckage of destroyed Brute vehicles. Grac had the twelve prisoners taken back to the barricade, and rallied all the troopers in the assault. In the attack, five Sangheili were lost, and twenty humans were lost. Grac had his men take a break from the fighting and he took a spot at the top of the barricade. He smelled the burning plasma and metal. I've seen so much death in my time. I feel... stained.

Thel 'Vadam opened the door to the bridge of the Shadow of Intent. He saw Rtas 'Vadum looking at a data pad and grabbed his shoulder. " Ah, I've been waiting for you, Thel," Rtas said. Thel nodded and asked, " How far out from Earth are we?" " Two and a half minutes," Rtas answered. " Good. I want the fleet to be fully ready for whatever happens with the Infinite Hierarchs. Ready all weapons. Radio the Joyous Triumph, I want a report," Thel said. On screen, Jalak appeared. Jalak saw the Arbiter, snapped to attention, and saluted. " My Arbiter. What is it you need?" he said. Thel looked at the officer, and said, " Where is Shipmaster 'Lasum?" Jalak said, " He went to the ground to fight. I'm his executive officer. Are you going to be jumping in soon, Arbiter?" Thel and Rtas both nodded. " Fifteen seconds, Thel," Rtas said.

Fifty-two portals tore open in space, and the Shadow of Intent crashed

through the first one. Rtas looked at the Earth, stunned. Dead hulks of UNSC and Sangheili ships scattered around the area, and they were all pointing at one, massive ship. " By the Gods. I never knew it was so massive," Thel said, his mandibles splitting apart. The other ships came through Slipspace. Only one ship remained near the Infinite Hierarchs: the Joyous Triumph. Rtas blasted on an open comm, " When you come through, fire on that dreadnought! Take it down!" The UNSC ships in the fleet aimed their MAC guns at the ship, and fired. The Sangheili ships fired their plasma torpedoes. The Shadow of Intent screamed over the dreadnought at top speed and was following it. Rtas then said, " All Sangheili Special Operations troopers. Get to your drop pods. We're getting that ship."

The MAC slugs and plasma torpedoes hit the dreadnought. Its shields

flickered, and then disappeared. Drop pods flew down from the Shadow of Intent toward the dreadnought. As they impacted on the ship, a portal opened in front of the dreadnought. " It's going into Slipstream!" Thel yelled. Rtas hollered, " Troopers, are you in the ship?" A coughing Elites voice came over comms, and said, " Yes. We are in the ship. But we are jumping through Slipspace." The dreaded ship stormed the portal, leaving the Sol System. " Spread out! Destroy any Brute ships in the area!" Rtas ordered. Then, multiple voices, human voices, were heard over the comm systems.

" We're initiating Evacuation Order 815 on Paris! The city is falling!"

"This is London HQ! My men are dead or dying! We're being overrun!"

" FLEETCOM, this is ODP Moscow. Do I have permission to flatten the city?"

" Negative, Moscow. We're still getting civilians out of the city. Engage any Brute ships in orbit."

" I've just lost contact with South America. All of South America."

Rtas and Thel looked at each other, puzzled. " There is only one thing we can do now. Send in the ground forces. We're getting the humans off of Earth," Thel affirmed. " Yes, my Arbiter. All ships, evacuate the humans. Earth is falling," Rtas said.

Grac rallied the troops and was giving orders when three Phantom and four Pelican dropships soared over the street and landed. The ramps lowered and Jalak strode out of a Phantom. " Jalak? I thought I told you to remain on the cruiser. What's going on?" Grac asked. " Multiple cities have fallen. Fleet Masters Vadam and Vadum have ordered all Sangheili forces assist in the evacuation of Earth. Their leader, Lord Terrance Hood has agreed. We are falling back to Reach," Jalak said. Frat roared, " Why? We can beat them!" Jalak shook his head. " The fleets are taking heavy losses. We barely lived. We have to go." Frat was about to inteject but Grac sighed and said, " He is right. The battle will be short lived. We must go."

The troops landed on the Joyous Triumph and other human ships. The Joyous Triumph was to oversee the evacuations of Chicago. When Grac and the bridge crew arrived on the bridge, the crew immediately snapped to attention. Grac nodded and looked out the viewport. A human frigate was destroyed by a CCS-class battlecruiser. UNSC frigates attacked some Brute carriers but they were destroyed. A Halcyon-class cruisers hull was torn away, but the exoskeleton remained. The remaining dropships came up to the ships overseeing Chicago's evacuation.

" We did what we could. Earth has to be abandoned," Hood said over radio. He then said, " Any Elite ships, you have permission... to glass any Brute positions." Grac and Frat looked at each other. Grac said, " Charge a plasma bombardment, When charged, fire." Frat said, " Bombardment aleady charged, Shipmaster. Firing." A beam of plasma shot out from the bottom of the cruiser, tearing into the city. Skysprapers melted, and the city caught on fire. Grac sighed and ordered, " Get us out of here." Jalak nodded and the Joyous Triumph soared up and out of the atmosphere, past burning wrecks of UNSC ships.

" Entering Slipstream," Jalak said. Grac slumped in his chair. What a week, he thought. He thought of what would happen if Reach fell again. The humans would probably hate the Sangheili for not being able to defend them adequately enough. " This is Shadow of Intent. All ships are away," Rtas said. Grac closed his eyes. They had just abandoned an entie planet. The human homeworld, to be exact.

The Joyous Triumph dropped out of Slipspace six hours later. A ship was danger close to the cruiser. " Jalak, identify that ship," Grac said. Jalak said, " It's the human cruiser Orion. It was heavily damaged at Chi Ceti IV, and escaped Reach. She was assigned to the Human Home Fleet. And according to our scan, its bottom decks are crippled. Out of 1500 crew, only 747 are in full working condition." " By the gods. That's half the crew!" Grac pounded his fist into the chair. Frat sighed, " They survived three or more engagements with our Covenant. Proves the durability of the humans."

" All civilians are being dropped to Reach. We are launching an immediate retake assault on Earth," Hood said. " So he's saying that we were just trying to get the civilians here? We wasted time when we could have destroyed the Brutes?" Frat snarled. " Stand down, 'Unfranee!" Grac yelled. " Did you just add the Desecrated Word... to my name..?!" Frat roared back. Grac stood back in shock at what he said. To add the -ee suffix was a great insult to the Sangheili, to any Separatists. " Frat... I.. didn't know what I said... I apologize," Grac kneeled. Frat looked around and offered his hand to Grac, " Get up, my brother. We have more battles to win." Grac smiled and rose.

" All warships, get ready! Charge your MAC guns! Ready the pulse lasers and plasma torpedoes! Earth will be ours once again!" Admiral Harper yelled. All ships reported to space docks for repairs and rearming. Once the cruiser was ready, after two days, she took her place with the ships. The UNSC brought many fleets for this battle. Sixteen London-class dreadnoughts, twenty eight Halcyon-class cruisers, three hundred Paris-class heavy frigates, five Saratoga-class carriers, and twelve Marathon-class cruisers readied for a jump. Two hundred and fifty CCS-class cruisers and twenty CAS-class carriers were brought by the Elites.

The order came, and space ripped open for the massive fleet. In Slipspace, Grac went around the ship, checking on the weapon stations. Wraith tanks were being armed for the ground attack, and ground soldiers checked their plasma rifles. One squad leader strode to Grac and said, " Shipmaster, when we get to Earth.. send us down. We'll give them hell." Grac put his hand on the warriors shoulder and said, " I am sending all forces down. Get your men together, we're breaking through."

Lieutenant Gary Sanders took a frantic slurp of coffee and tapped a few buttons. His Orbital Defense Platform over China hadn't been hit by the Brutes yet, and he was trying to stop them from doing so. " There have to be some friendly forces in the area. They couldn't just leave us," one of his colleagues yelled. " I know man. Those damn split-lips couldn't help. And most of the cities have fallen," another responded. Sanders said, " MAC gun at seventy-three percent charge. Firing solution online." Captain Quentin McLean ordered, " Once over ninety percent, fire at will." " Roger, sir."

" Probes 8 and 12 are out. Sending them towards Luna and ODP Cluster 8," someone said. " I've got multiple Slipstream whispers, near Pluto. Looks big. Possible... Brute reinforcements.. More contacts slipping in. By their cluster, I'm saying five hundred plus ships," Petty Officer Mike Yatau reported. " Not good. Sanders, give me a SitRep," Captain McLean checked. " Firing solution ninety-nine percent. Picking a target now. Alright... Firing!" Sanders yelled. The MAC gun fired at a large colony ship, inbound for Beijing. The slug tore straight through the ship, and the burning hull fell into the atmosphere.

"The Slipspace cluster is slowing, sir. Looks like they're dropping out in five.. four.. three.. two.."

The Joyous Triumph jolted backwards as it dropped out of Slipspace, following the dozens of massive warships ahead of it. Grac yelled, " 'Unfran, pick your targets! Full spread on our torpedoes! Jalak, keep us in formation with the fleet!" Frat scanned the ships present in the Earth's area and said, " Shipmaster, I've got some targets you're gonna love. Six colonization vessels just floating. Initial and secondary scans show they are at full carrying capacity." Grac grinned and said, " Fire when ready."

The cruiser dove lower than the fleet, maintaining formation, and fired its first salvo. The colony ships were protected by a few destroyers, but MAC slugs and Archer missles from the UNSC ships disabled them. The plasma torpedoes slammed into the colony ships. The metal melted, and the hulks floated in space. Rtas' face popped up on comms, " All Sangheili ships, launch your ground forces." Hood came on the comms and said, " UNSC forces, you're going in. ODST's? Get to your pods."

The two fleet leaders gave the order for the fleet to scatter. The Joyous Triumph came down upon a Brute CCS-class battlecruiser, the Rising Tensions. The Tensions got the first shots though. " Full power to shields!" Grac yelled. The shields on the cruiser rose, and the pulse lasers launched by the Brutes richocheted off. The Joyous Triumph veered in close and fired a spread of plasma torpedoes. The Brute cruisers' shields flickered, dimmed, and then the hull melted under the pressure of the burning plasma. With the cruiser out of the way, dozens of dropships and drop pods flew down from the fleet to locations across the globe. "Joyous Triumph, assist the humans in Seattle," Rtas said. Jalak pressed a few keys and the cruiser made a pinpoint jump over Seattle. Grac readied his troops for a hard fight.


	4. Chapter 4: Seattle

Spartan-104, Frederic, drew a deep breath as the Pelican dropship vented atmsosphere. He looked around the small ship. Twelve soldiers, three of them, including himself, were SPARTAN-II's. The othere were all Marines, part of the complement from the UNSC cruiser Shanghai. Fred and his team were part of a huge ground offensive to take back Earth from the massive Brute fleet. The plan was drawn up way back in 2547, when UNSC interrogators found out that large numbers of Sangheili thought of the humans as honourable warriors. Plans were drawn for a combined Elite-Human attack on Earth, in case the Elites switched sides and Earth happened to fall.

Fred looked to his side and saw Spartan-087, Kelly, loading her MA5B Assault Rifle. Linda, Spartan-058, adjusted the scope on her sniper rifle. The pilot of the Pelican yelled, " Touchdown in thirty!" Fred rose and hollered, " Roger. Get tactical Marines!" " Oorah!" came the reply. " Where are we dropping in, Sergeant?" Fred asked the Marine sergeant. " Seattle, in North America. City hasn't fallen yet, but Brutes are pressing. As we speak, forces have touched down in London, New York, Dallas, St. Petersburg, and multiple other cities. The Brute fleet is being picked off by our ships," the Marine responded.

" Hitting dirt in three! Two! One!" the pilot yelled. Fred and the others stood at the ramp as it dropped. " Go! Go! Go!" Fred yelled. The three Spartans stormed down the ramp and were greeted by a smiling officer. " Good to see you, Spartans. Follow me," he said and walked toward a table. The Spartan team followed the officer and the Marines fell in for their orders. The officer went into a building and into a room with a holographic map in the center. " Spartans, I am Colonel Edward James, of the 13th Armored Division. Seattle has been under siege for the past few days, and yet, we have held," he smiled. Fred and the other Spartans snapped to attention and saluted. " At ease. This is a war. No formalities here," Colonel James said.

James zoomed in on an area in the Downtown. The map showed multiple Wraith tanks engaging Scorpion tanks. Marines with Jackhammer rockets fired from balconies in the higher buildings. One part of the city was black. " Because of Seattle's strategic importance, FLEETCOM lent us the frigates Tripoli and Westfields. They are being engaged by one Brute destroyer. We did have more ships, but the destroyer assumingly wasted all their plasma torpedoes on the other, smaller ships. MAC rounds from the frigates have not been authorized due to their proximity to the ground. The Brutes are somehow edging in troop numbers, but many of our troopers here are veterans.

"The Elites are sending the cruiser Joyous Triumph to deal with the

destroyer once the city is retaken. Spartans, what I need you to do is get to the top of the Space Needle. The Brutes put a jammer at the top of the tower, so we don't have contact with the fireteams there. Destroy the jammer. Scorpion tanks and Warthogs will be there to help you," James concluded. Fred nodded and went out the back door. " Fred, I've got a bad feeling about this. This feels like a trap by the Brutes," Kelly murmured. " I don't understand what you mean," Fred responded. The trio of supersoldiers jumped into a waiting Warthog. " With all due respect for the UNSC, sir, why would they leave an obvious landmark location to the Loyalists? Plus, Colonel James didn't go into detail about troop sizes for them. I'm not accusing the Colonel of treason or anything, but it seems like he either accidentaly left out some details or ONI is plotting something," Kelly said. Linda loaded her rifle and said, " We're Spartans. No matter what they throw at us, we will beat them." Kelly responded, " Yeah. Tell that to Red Team on Reach." Fred then barked, " Lock it down, both of you!"

Fred began driving the Warthog down the street and looked at the chaos of the battle. The area where they were was a war zone. Dead Grunts were being piled up by the dozens, and one Brute Chieftains body was being urinated on by a couple of Marines. Fred shook his head and then heard on a private comm, " Fred, its John. I'm inbound in a Falcon to assist the squad. Surveillance from the Tripoli says that there's a division of Loyalists near the Space Needle."

John saw one green light wink in his Head's-Up Display. Fred is still there, he thought. He looked down on the massing UNSC force. His FOF (Friend or Foe) tags identified five M808B Scorpion tanks, twelve Warthogs, one hundred and fifty-two Marines, and ten SPARTAN-IV's. The two Marines sitting across from the massive Spartan gulped. Seeing a Spartan was usually accompanied by a couple dozen corpses. They knew the massive armor-clad soldier was on their side, but this was the one who saved Earth.

Fred slowed the Warthog at a massive wall. A gate screamed open, and two Army troopers ran out. They saw the Spartans, and said, " Spartans, welcome to the Forward Operating Base. We're charging the Needle in ten minutes. Better get ready." Fred responded, " Okay. Where do I park this thing?" One trooper said, " There's a makeshift garage where some engineers are jury-rigging cars to be Warthogs. Park it there." Fred drove forward and parked the Hog in the garage. The three Spartans jumped out and walked to a makeshift barricade, with ramps for the vehicles. John's Falcon touched down in the large courtyard and he hopped out. The numbers 117 were imprinted on his Mark VI MJOLNIR armor, and he carried a BR55 Battle Rifle. John saluted Fred, as Fred's Lieutenant rank was higher than John's Master Chief Petty Officer. Fred returned the salute.

Four Spartans were together. To them, it almost felt like their training way back in 2517, when they met. Kelly made the "smile" gesture on her helmet visor. John returned the favor. John said, " Fred, do you have orders?" " How about you lead this one, Chief? Just like old times," Fred insisted. Three green lights winked on John's HUD. John sighed and said, " Alright. Now, we have a squad of new Spartans here. We should show them how real Spartans do the job. But we need a plan. We should let the tanks go first, with Warthogs close behind. We'll cut around the side of the force, and infiltrate the west lobby. When we get to the top, plant charges all around. We're going to have to blow the lid off this thing."

The three other Spartans nodded and they ran to the far left of the cluster of UNSC forces. Linda looked up and saw a Jackal sniper climbing a ladder to try and get a vantage point on them. Not on my watch, Linda thought and raised her sniper rifle. One thunder clap echoed in the air, and the Jackal fell off the scaffolding to the ground. She smiled in her helmet and continued on with the squad. Warthog and Scorpion engines flared to life, and they began rumbling over the ramp. The Marines and Warthogs followed the tanks. The four Spartans charged over the barricade and began their charge to the lobby.

" View of the city in three. Two. One. Clear view," Jalak 'Ingral said. Grac 'Lasum stood and looked out the viewport. He could see the skyscrapers of the city standing tall, and he saw UNSC forces charging at a short, needle-like structure. " This is UNSC Frigate 187 Westfields. We are engaging a Covenant destroyer over city. Archer missles have nil-effect. Magnetic Accelerator Cannon rounds haven't been authorized. Joyous Triumph, can you hit it with a few plasies?" the comms flared. " We shall. Frat, fire three mid-yield plasma torpedoes at the destroyer. Jalak, ask the human command for MAC round authorization," Grac said. Frat and Jalak nodded and began typing in their computers.

The cruiser jolted as the trio of plasma torpedoes thundered out of the ship and sailed at the destroyer. The destroyers shields rose, but they were only at half charge when the torpedoes hit. The shields dimmed and then disappeared. The hull began boiling, but remained intact. " Triumph, thanks for the assist. MAC rounds are authorized, we'll take it away. Fire!" the captain of the UNSC Tripoli yelled. The two UNSC frigates fired their guns, and the slugs ripped into the ship. The hull cracked and split; its remains falling into the city below.

John and the Spartans snapped their heads above as the Covenant destroyer exploded under pressure from an Elite cruiser and two UNSC frigates. When the remains hit the ground, one large piece crushed a Warthog. Fred peered around the support beam and saw the raging battle. Brute reinforcements were rushing to the area to comabt the attacking humans. He turned around and pointed at the lobby doors. John nodded and started dashing for the doors, his rifle at the ready. The other Spartans followed him, their weapons ready. John ordered Kelly and Fred on the other side of the doorway, while Linda took the other side. John kicked in the doors and immediately began firing. He caught a sqaud of Grunts off guard, and they scrambled for their weapons, to no avail. The other Spartans followed 117 through, mowing down any resistance. They checked all the surrounding rooms, finding a cache of Covenant weapons. Even though the war was over, ONI was still interested in Covenant technology.

The Spartans rallied at the elevator and pressed the button for up. Fred reloaded his dual M7 submachine guns and looked at the ground. He had heard of the Space Needle. It was a major landmark for one of the old countries. People loved to go there, apparantly. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. The four Spartans went into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. The elevator doors closed, and it began racing for the top. When they were nearing the floor, thumps and gunfire could be heard above them. " Did the Marines make it here before us?" Kelly asked. John said, " Probably. Good for them for beating Spartans to the punch. But we never lose." When the elevator stopped, the Spartans raised their rifles only to see a Brue chieftain get thrown by a golden armor-clad Elite. The Elite saw the Spartans and turned off his energy dagger.

"Demons," the Elite muttered.

" Shipmaster, the destroyer is now the destroyed," Frat reported with glee. Grac stood up and looked out the viewport. The battle was appearing to fall into the humans favor. However, the battle for the needle like structure was bloody. Many human tanks and Warthogs were destroyed. " Frat, ready a Phantom and a platoon of warriors. We're taking that structure.

It felt like five minutes ago when Grac was flying into Chicago. He was now flying into Seattle, surrounded by nineteen Sangheili warriors and four Unggoy. Grac yelled, " Take us to the top of that structure!" The pilot yelled, " Yes, my Shipmaster!" The doors of the dropship opened, and Grac leaped through the closest window, shattering it. A platoon of Brutes were up there. Grac landed and ignited his energy sword. His warriors jumped into the tower, and began firing on the Jiralhanae soldiers. Grac rolled into a Brute and jabbed his blade into its torso. The Brute fell, and Grac pulled his energy sword out of the creature. He drew a plasma rifle and cut down three Brutes. He turned around and saw a Brute tackle an Elite Minor out of an open window. Three of his Grunts pounced on a distracted Brute and tore his helmet off. They stuck his face with a plasma grenade, and leadped off, screaming, " Run away!" The Brute exploded.

Two minutes later, all the Brutes lay dead, except for one large Brute chieftain. The chieftain roared, and slammed his gravity hammer down on the ground. Grac called off his troops; he would face this beast alone. He pulled out another energy sword, dual wielding them. He looked at the elevator close-by, an elevator was coming up. Probably Brute reinforcements. Better make this quick, Grac thought. He stared at the chieftain, which returned the look. Grac snarled and charged the Brute. The Brute swung his hammer at Grac, who slid on the floor and cut the handle of the hammer in half. The top half of the hammer clanged on the ground.

The Brute roared and hit Grac in the left arm with the handle, knocking one of the swords out of his hands. Grac fell to the floor in pain, and looked at his troops. They had their weapons at the ready if Grac lost the duel. The Brute chuckled and grabbed Grac. With a tightening grip around his neck, Grac was quickly losing air. He gasped for air whenever he could, and then realized he had one sword left. He rose it and sliced into the chieftains arm, making a deep gash. The Brute cried in pain, and let go of Grac. Grac scurried back, and threw his sword behind him. He was going to beat this thing down. Slamming his fist into an open palm, Grac charged the chieftain. He grabbed it by the waist and tackled it. He puched the Brute in the face, giving it a bloody nose, but the creature wasn't finished yet.

The chieftain grabbed Grac by the hip and threw him off. " Shipmaster, should we shoot?" an Elite yelled. " No, this is an honor duel," Grac responded. " Honor? Hah, no wonder the Prophets banished you," the chieftain laughed, wiping blood from his face. Grac rose, closing his eyes. He gathered all his strength and charged the Brute. The Brute got in a combat stance, but Grac saw this coming. He leaped over the alien, landing behind it. He snapped an energy dagger from its holster to its hand, and slid it into the Brutes neck. The Brute croaked for air, and clawed at the air. The heart rate slowed to a stop, and Grac threw the dead body at the other side of the rotunda just as the elevator doors slid open. Four human Spartans stood in it, their weapons at the ready. Grac turned to face them, and turned of his energy dagger. " Demons," he muttered.


	5. Chapter 5: Two Captains

John-117 lowered his rifle and walked to the towering Elite. " What are you doing here?" he demanded. " Your assault force isn't doing so well. When I was on the ship, I saw many destroyed vehicles and corpses. I thought you could use some help, " Grac responded, looking down on the Spartan. " Wait a second, you're the one we saw at New Mombasa! Never thought I'd see you again," Kelly said. Fred holstered his SMG's and walked out of the elevator. He looked at one side of the room; there was a damn near Phantom full of Elites standing near a window. All around the room were Brute corpses, one of them was a huge chieftain. Grac looked at where Fred was looking and said, " Brutes were here. We cleaned them out. Why are you here?" Fred turned and said, " The Brutes placed a jammer at the top of this structure. We're here to blow it to hell."

Grac motioned for the Spartans to follow him. He then called for an extraction Phantom. The Spartans began planting charges at certain points in the rotunda. John then said over the comm, " This is Sierra-117. Blue Team and Elite forces have cleared the Needle and are placing charges to destroy the jammer. All UNSC forces, clear the area." Linda peered out of a window to see the remaining UNSC units turn around and go back to the safety of the barricade. An Elite Phantom soared up to the side of the Space Needle, and its doors opened. An energy bridge ignited, and the Separatist troops walked onto the ship. When all the charges were set, the four Spartans and Grac dashed for the dropship. When they got onboard, the doors remained open, so the surviving troops could watch the fireworks. Fred pulled out a detonator, and pressed the button. The charges exploded, and the jammer, which was clearly seen, erupted into flames along with the whole top of the tower. The rotunda disintegrated entirely, with only ashes remaining.

Grac ordered the Phantom be flown to the Joyous Triumph. When the Phantom landed, the Spartans were the first ones out. The waiting crew glared at the Demons. Grac followed them, and then his troops. " Follow me," Grac said to the Spartans. The five went to the bridge and the crew snapped to attention. Grac sat in his chair and the Spartans stood idle. " My ships mess hall has an assortment of human beverages. Would you four like some?" Grac turned and looked at the Spartans, who removed their helmets. Kelly and Linda's hair were tied into ponytails, but were also neatly cropped. Fred's hair was brown and an average length. Johns, however, was a clean buzz cut. All of the Spartans shared a stern look. They all shook their heads in unison.

Two Elites strode into the bridge a few minutes later and handed Grac some papers. John walked forward and said, " Shipmaster, might I ask how the rest of the world is doing?" Grac looked at Jalak who then stared at his screen for a few seconds. He then took in a breath and reported, " Well, a few cities were glassed or MAC'd before we came back. However, now that we're back, the cities of Los Angeles, Birmingham, Berlin, and New York have so far been liberated. However, that's not saying much. Believe it or not, the Brute civilian populace has fled into the hills. Presumably, it's because it's much like their homeworld." John nodded and asked, " What about the fleets?"

Grac said, " The Brutes were not expecting us to send a huge fleet to attack. So far, we have taken few losses, let alone a few. New Mombasa, for some reason, was not hit. We have.." A video feed popped up on screen, showing the bridge of Shadow of Intent. Behind Rtas 'Vadum was fire, and a dead Elite. He screamed, " Brutes have boarded the carrier! We are surrounded by a group of frigates. Need reinforcements!" Then the video cut out. "Jalak, plot a course for the carrier. We're taking those frigates down," Grac ordered.

The Joyous Triumph rose and thundered out of atmosphere. It wasn't the only one helping the carrier; a human destroyer, Odysseus, lurched to starboard after destroying a Brute cruiser, and sped to the carrier. The frigates swarming the Intent turned to engage the approaching ships. The Triumph turned so its side was facing the lead frigate. " Fire a broadside!" Grac yelled. The side shuddered and burning bolts sailed across space and into the face of the frigate. The shields disappeared, and the hull boiled and finally disintegrated. The remaining torpedoes hit two other frigates, destroying them. The four remaining frigates were immediately engaged by the Odysseus. The destroyer fired its twin MAC guns, ripping into a frigate and knocking it out. It then launched a dozen Archer missiles, delivering a killing blow.

The three frigates initiated a pin point Slipspace jump behind the destroyer. The destroyer slowed, and then reversed. It picked up speed, and slammed into the closest frigate, tearing it in two. It then spun, and fired a MAC round into the second frigate. The Triumph sent out two Phantoms to assist the Intent. Grac linked up with the Odysseus and slowed alongside it. " This is Captain Jon Graham, of the Odysseus. Thanks for the assist. We will be here for any assistance," the screen came on. A young man stood at the center. He seemed too young to be a Shipmaster. He wore no cap, and he had short hair, reminding Grac of Frederic. He then remembered that the Spartans were still on the bridge. Grac rose, and turned to the Spartans. He was much taller than them, but he knew they would most likely kill him in a fight. However, Grac was one of the many Sangheili who favored the humans joining the Covenant. He respected the humans a lot, which was earned over multiple engagements with them. At the beginning of the war, any system the Covenant went to was guarded by a human fleet. Even small colonies. Then, they began pulling their powerful cruisers back to places like Reach and Earth.

The two warships floated in space, searching for a target. They saw the Super MAC guns firing on Brute ships. Then, radiation spiked. The Brute ships all began jumping into Slipstream. They were abandonng the invasion. Following the Brute ships were dozens of UNSC frigates.

Rtas smiled as the last Brute fell on the Shadow of Intent. He sat down slowly in his command chair, and Thel collapsed into the one next to him. " Minor, try and raise the Spec Ops on the Infinite Hierarchs," Rtas said. A video came up on screen, and a battered Elite lay in front of the camera. He looked at the camera, and jumped up in surprise. " Fleet Master 'Vadum," he bowed his head. " What is the situation?" Thel spoke. " Light casualties, for the thousands sent to the ship. The Brutes here are veterans. A dozen of our best soldiers have been slaughered. We have barely managed to take one hundred and twelve hangers," the Elite responded. " A hundred and twelve? By the gods, how many do they have?" 'Vadum gasped. " Many more. The human ODST's are on the other side of the ship. From what we've heard, they have lost many men," the Elite said.

A spike flew over the Elite, and a corpse fell in front of the camera. " Cover!" an Elite yelled. Bursts of fire were exchanged, before an Elite was heard yelling, " Casualty report!" THe Elite that was seen on camera moved the body and panted, " Brutes just hit us. They've been hammering us for the past few days. We've salvaged food. We will take the ship, sir!" The video screen cut off. Thel stood. The two warriors looked at each other, and Rtas said, " The battle is going well. The Brutes are on their last legs. I'm surprised at how well the humans are doing themselves."

The Orbital Defense Platform Moscow fired another MAC round at a Brute carrier. The shot shattered the hull of the vessel, and the crew of the platform cheered. The captain looked up and saw one Halcyon-class cruiser and two Saratoga-class carriers flying over. " Ready another round," the captain said. " MAC charge at thirty percent," the weapons officer yelled. The carriers swerved away from the cruiser, and launched dozens of Longsword interceptors, who engaged the fleeing Brute Seraph fighters. The carriers then dropped hundreds of ODST's and dozens of Pelican dropships into the city of Moscow below. The cruiser picked up speed and soared ahead of the carriers, at a cluster of Unggoy-crewed corvettes. " MAC charge at 98%!" the weapons officer yelled. " 100!" he then cried with glee. " Help out that cruiser, Lieutenant. Fire," the captain smiled.

The lights on the platfrom dimmed a little, and then the platform shuddered as the MAC round tore through space. " Ready a group of low-yield rounds," the captain said. The heavy round impacted on the lead corvette and tore through it, and stopped as it tore through a second corvette. " Low-yields are ready, sir," the weapons officer said. " Finish them off. Fire!" the captain yelled. At that time, the human cruiser fired its MAC rounds too. Seven MAC bolts slammed into the new leading corvette, causing it to spin out of control. It crashed into the ship trailing it, and escape pods flared to life as the rocketed out into space. The four shattered hulls of the corvettes began slowly falling to the Earth.

Captain Graham brought up a map of the space battle, and the casualty rates. The Brutes had lost two hundred and fourty six ships from combat, and another fifty two from accidents. Over three hundred ships had successfully jumped to another location. The remaining were either retreating or fighting. The Elites/UNSC fleets hadn't lost many ships at all. On the ground, dozens of cities were taken back by human and Elites forces. Some were in contest, but the planet was being liberated. Graham looked to his right; outside was that Elite battlecruiser which had helped the Shadow of Intent. " Darryl, bring up the file of the captain of that cruiser," he spoke to the ships Artificial Intelligence (AI). " Yes, sir. Their Shipmaster is Grac 'Lasum, raised on Sangheilios. He participated in the Harvest Campaign, where he began believing that the humans were honorable fighters. After he fought at many more campaigns, he was sent to Sigma Octanus IV, where he was on one of the few ships to escape us. At Reach, he was a distinguished fighter, taking on some of the Spartans. Now, he is one of the leaders of the whole Sangheili movement," Darryl concluded. " Wow, I want to meet this guy. Lieutenant Gyros, tell the cooks to ready our best food and drink. We're gonna have a boarding party."

Grac had been on one or two human ships before. He boarded a destroyer in 2541, and narrowly escaped its self-destruct. The second time was at a meeting between he and the humans when he became a Separatist. And both times, he had only seen a few parts of the ship. Now, he's being invited to a party? And not only that, but in the middle of a battle? Human customs were strange.

Grac, Frat, and Jalak wiped dust off of their armor as the space pathway clasped onto the sides of the cruiser. The Spartans all held their helmets in their arms. The doors slid open, and the man Grac saw in the comm link stood in front of him, smiling. Two armed Marines guarded the captain, and two of his officers flanked the captain on both sides. Grac chuckled and called for two Sangheili Honor Guards to guard him. Graham raised an eyebrow, and smiled. He said, " You Elites are much taller in person... err, I mean contact." Grac and the other Elites laughed. " Tell me, Captain. Why are we doing this now?" Grac questioned. Graham explained, " The Brutes are finished. Their remaining ships have retreated, been captured, or been destroyed. And plus, Lord Hood said I could. Now, if you'll please follow me."

A bell clanged as the group boarded the Odysseus. " Captain on deck!" a Marine yelled and his squad snapped to attention. " At ease," Graham saluted. The group walked past the Marines, who looked up at the imposing aliens. " Formal," Frat snarked. Grac and Graham both laughed. The group turned and walked into the mess hall. Two Naval officers both whispered, " Spartans?" And Kelly turned around, and jokingly blew them both kisses. The two officers scrambled away. When Kelly turned to face forward, Fred was looking at her, grinning. She punched him and said, " Shut up." Linda and John led the group, yet they were behind Grac. Captain Graham led the group to a large, decorated table. Grac and the other Sangheili looked at each other and sat down.

" Wine?" Graham asked Grac and the Spartans. Grac pondered for a second, and then said, " Why not. Yes, I'll have some." John and the Spartans then unamimously said, " I don't drink. Water would be fine." Graham nodded and some cooks brought out wine for Graham, Grac, and the Sangheili. Grac took the glass and took a drink. It tasted like grapes, only with alcohol. Then he remembered what wine was and felt idiotic. " So, Shipmaster Graham, why are we having this 'party?'" Frat asked. Graham took a drink of his wine and then said, " I want to get to know Elites personally. I fought your people on multiple occasions, on many fronts, and was intriuged by your tenacity and will to fight."

" Likewise," Grac responded. " I know. I saw your dossier," Graham said. "Your people have files on me? Hopefully not everything was shown," Grac retorted. " Don't worry. A ton of stuff was blocked out. But, I do have a question for you. What was your first experience with humanity?" Graham leaned forward, and pressed his hands together. The Spartans turned to face Grac and the Elites, who were curious. Fred and Linda noticed that the Elites began looking nervous, and a few whispers in their native tongues were exchanged. 'Lasum immediately hushed them. " Well, um, do you want the real answer or the publicized answer?" Grac asked, who also leaned in. Jalak grabbed Grac's armor and said, " Shipmaster, with all due respect, should they even know?"

" Yes, 'Ingram. The war is over, and some secrets must be revealed," Grac said, a bit annoyed. He then turned again to face Jon Graham. " I want the real story," Graham said, smiling. The Spartans looked even more interested now. Grac looked both ways and said, " First contact. Six weeks before Harvest. Thel 'Vadamee, myself, and several other Sangheili soldiers boarded an unknown vessel belonging to a previously undiscovered race. They turned out to be human rebels. We jammed its communications, and then tried to talk to the crew. One of the trigger-happy ones shot Frat, and then Thel ordered us to extinguish the vermin. When the ship was clear, we found data on what we thought was your homeworld."

" Harvest," Kelly whispered.

Grac glared at her and continued, " Yes. We relayed back to the High Prophets. They had us keep the operation secret. They were afraid that you were much more powerful than previously believed. We were to make peace with your kind, but then the Prophets had a change of heart. So there you have it. Harvest was NOT first contact." Graham leaned back, stunned. He was in the First Battle of Harvest, on the Heracles, the only ship that survived Battlegroup 4. He was a cadet in the UNSC Navy Cadet Corps, and was 11 at the time. That day was when he lost his father, the executive officer. He blocked that out of his mind.

" So you.. killed humans before Harvest?" Linda asked. Grac simply nodded, and then said, " And now that I know the Prophets were lying, I feel dirty. It is strange. Never before have I felt bad about my enemies. There were multiple races that my species came in contact with, and kept it secret from the Prophets. Eventually, the Brutes all wiped them out when the Great Schism happened." " That's horrible," Graham said. The Elites slowly nodded. " My home planet, Likasa, was glassed in the initial Brute blitz. My whole family, save two brothers, were killed," Frat added. " My siblings were killed on High Charity by the Flood," Jalak said. John said, " I remember the first time I encountered your people. It was on Harvest, and I remember it plain as day. It was Fred and I. We dropped from orbit into the ruins of a city. New Volgograd. The building were smoked out, and the city was empty. Our orders were to gather any survivors."

" Yeah, only HIGHCOM failed to realize that this city was gone. Blazed. Hell, I could even make out the ash piles of were humans were slaughtered. As John was saying, we went there. Then, we made contact. Grunts at first. No problem. Jackals then came. Okay, that was also a bit easy. Then, all of a sudden, this thing jumps at me. It was huge," Fred said.

John nodded and continued, " Yeah. It was much bigger than me, and it looked pissed. It grabbed Fred and tossed him like a doll a few feet away. I tried to pull out my shotgun, but this thing had a sword. It swung, and I dodged what probably would have been a fatal blow. I was jumping around like a rabbit trying to avoid it, and it was practically laughing at me."

" So by this time, I'm pretty angry. I got up, and I see the Chief jumping around. So I ran to this thing and kicked the back of its knee. This brought it to its knees, and then it roared. John took the initiative, and plunged his knife into this things neck. This thing was an Elite major," Fred concluded. Grac asked, " And that was first contact for the Spartans?"

The four supersoldiers nodded in unison.

Through the next few hours, the soldiers and sailors drank and ate. They talked about many different things. Eventually, it came time for the Sangheili and the Spartans to go back to the Joyous Triumph.

Grac woke up the next day and went to the bridge. " Morning, Shipmaster," Frat said as he entered the bridge. " Where are the Spartans?" Grac asked Jalak, who captained the ship over the sleep cycle. " Lord Hood got on our comm and ordered Spartans 117 and 058 go to the UNSC Infinity. We get to keep Spartan-104 and Spartan-087. They were a bit agitated that they got split up again, but they obeyed orders. They're down in Armory D," Jalak explained. Grac slowly nodded in understanding, then walked to the viewport. He looked over Earth.

This battle had shown the humans that the Brutes were still active and powerful. They had lost a few hundred million in the few weeks of fighting, and some fleets were in complete disarray. By this time, however, the Jiralhanae were routed, and the human ships began regular patrol patterns. Sangheili ships began drawing out of the area, going to the other battle spaces. Grac glared at multiple spots. New Mombasa. Chicago. Seattle. The names of these cities flashed across the weary Shipmaster's mind. Suddenly, Jalak asked, " The Arbiter is patching through. Should I let him in?" Grac said, " Yes. Let him through."

The viewscreen flared to life, and Thel popped up on screen. " Grac, my

friend! We have completely routed these vermin. They have retreated! Their ships are scattered across the galaxy. We will wait this out. But anyways, I hear that you boarded a human ship?" he said. " Yes. The Odysseus. Their captain, Jon Graham, wanted me aboard to get to know me," Grac said. Thel stood solemnly at his post for a few seconds, then spoke, " Good. We have selected the Joyous Triumph and the Odysseus to lead an initial invasion of Doisac." Grac was taken a bit aback, and then asked, " Aren't you glassing the planet?" The Arbiter put his hand behind his head and scratched it. He then muttered, " We had to abandon it. When we came to Earth, we called all ships back from Doisac as it could've been a trap. Rtas, the Council, and I all decided that invasion is the best option. We have commandos on the ground as we speak. You and Graham will be spearheading the actual invasion. We want you going in quietly. Can you do it?" Grac put his right arm over his heart and bowed. " It will be done," he said. Thel then responded, " Good. Get to it." The screen went dark.

Grac sat down in his chair and then Jalak said, " Message coming in. Patching it through." Jon Graham appeared on screen, and said, " Hey, Shipmaster. Looks like we'll be going through another few battles. We should probably jump through together." The screen went dark again. Grac rose and looked at Jalak. He thought for a second, then said, " Plot a course for Doisac. Frat, I want the stealth drive up. We're going in quietly." The two Sangheili nodded and typed in orders into their computers. Grac looked out the viewport and saw the Odysseus slowly gaining speed, heading for the edge of the system. The cruiser rumbled and began following the human ship.

" General Sanders, give me an update on our ground capabilities," Graham said to the leader of his ground troops. General Sanders opened his data pad, and then said, " On board, we currently have four hundred Marines, one hundred and fifty ODST's, and two Spartan-III's." Graham nodded and asked, " We have Spartan-III's? Wow. What about vehicles?" Sanders glared at his pad and let a few quick breaths in a pattern. He then said, " We're lookin' at twenty Warthogs, five of which are gauss. We also have six Scorpions, and a few Cougar IFV's." Graham then asked his final questions, " What about our air power? Do we have anybody inbound to the ship before we jump?" Sanders looked at the Captain and asked with a smile, " You sure are full of questions, aren't you?" Graham laughed. " Anyway's, for airpower we have a dozen Hornets, two Vultures, thirty Eagles and a squadron of Longsword fighters. The whole crew is aboard, save for two Pelicans bringing in a Mammoth. Shit, I also forgot to tell you, we have two Elephants aboard as well," Sanders concluded. " Good. Go get to your troops, General. They're gonna be fighting soon, and they may need some pep talk," Graham said.

He turned to face the bridge crew. There was Lieutenant Gyros, the morale officer. She was the lead psychiatrist on the ship, and also communicated with the mess hall and shooting range to get them to do special occasions for the men. Then there was Lieutenant Fallwell, the weapons officer. He was in charge of all weapons on the ship. He controlled the twin MAC guns, the Archer missles, the Shiva nuclear weapons, and secondary guns. He distinguished himself at the battle of Psi Serpentis, where he was aboard the frigate Austerlitz. The next officer was Ensign Chang, the navigation and engines officer. He was of Chinese descent, and was extremely skilled with maps and charts. He also studied engineering at the New Houston Intitute of Technology. He was from Reach, and knew the planet so well that he could find the locations of all the cities blindfolded. Ensign Jacobs, the communications officer, was also a talented person. She knew all codes, Sangheili and human, by the letter. " Lt. Chang, fire up the Slipspace drive," Graham said. The Odysseus and the Joyous Triumph jumped into Slipstream.


End file.
